Monthly Archives: September 2014

I’ve seen several similar crafts on Pinterest that involve pool noodles and real shoes, but that’s not very practical for a welcome mat. You can’t walk on that. So I decided to make a welcome mat you can actually use as such. Halloween craft #2: Witch Welcome Mat.

Step 1: Print out the witch boot template. Cut out the boots. Place the boots on the black felt and trace around them. Cut out the boots.

Step 2: Trace a square around the buckle with the gold Sharpie or marker. Be sure to leave the center of the buckle black.

Step 3: Arrange the boot cutouts on top of the feet of the leggings. Once you have them where you’d like them, pick up one of the boots and apply hot glue to the foot of the legging. Press the boot to the legging and hold for 10-15 seconds. Repeat with the second boot.

Step 4: Place the top of the leggings under the welcome mat. You may need to play around with the placement to get it to look the way you want.

I saw this edible craft last year and vowed to try it this year for Halloween. They’re just as cute as I wanted them to be and oh so easy to make. Halloween edible craft #2: Skeleton Cupcakes.

Note: The ingredients listed below will make 10 skeletons. Since most cupcake recipes make 18-24 cupcakes, you’ll need to get 2 bags of pretzels and another container of white frosting if you want all the cupcakes to have skeletons.

1 small container chocolate frosting (I used left-overs I had in the fridge from another recipe)

1 plastic Ziploc bag

Muffin tin

Step 1: Line a muffin tin with the cupcake lines. Mix ingredients according to the box of cake mix or follow your own recipe. Bake cupcakes according to directions. Remove from pan and allow cupcakes to cool to the touch, about 20 minutes.

Step 2: Using an icing spatula or flat edged knife, spread about 1/4 cup of frosting onto of each cupcake. Spread the frosting all the way to the edge of the liner. Make sure the frosting is thick enough so that you can’t see the cupcake.

Step 3: Place 1 pretzel in the middle of each cupcake.

Step 4: My pretzels had a large bottom hole, so I needed 2 lollipop sticks per cupcake: Take 1 lollipop stick and insert it into the cupcake as close to the left side of the hole as possible. Take another lollipop stick and insert it into the cupcake as close to the right side of the hole as possible. Gently press down on the sticks until they reach the bottom of the cupcake.

Step 5: Grab another pretzel and gently squeeze the lollipop sticks together to fit into the pretzel hole. Move the pretzel down the sticks until it’s about 1/3 inch above the bottom pretzel. To make the pretzel stay in place, you may need to angle it down a little in the front. The chocolate coating should hold onto the sticks. Repeat with the third, and final, pretzel.

Step 6: Gently flatten the marshmallow in your hand. Spoon about 1/2 cup of chocolate frosting into 1 corner of a plastic Ziploc bag. Cut a very small 1/8 inch off of one corner of the bag. Carefully pipe two small dots onto the marshmallows. Add 2 small lines for the nose. Add a curved line for the mouth and small lines crossing the mouth to make the stitches.

Ingredients

Step 1: Spoon the cream cheese into a plastic Ziploc bag. Cut 1/2 inch off of one corner of the bag. Pipe the cream cheese into each celery piece.

Step 2: Cut the deli meat lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide strips then into 1 inch long pieces. Lay the meat slices over the celery and arrange to look like bandages. Use the tip of a knife to tuck the ends of the meat along the celery edge.

Step 3: Place the cranberries between the meat strips to look like eyes.

Several years ago I stumbled upon the ribbon I used for this craft and had to have it, even though I had no idea what to do with it at the time. Last year I stumbled upon a image of a tiered serving platter on Pinterest (darn you Pinterest!) and thought to myself, “I can do that!” Which brings us Halloween craft #1: Spooky 2-Tier Serving Platter.

Supplies

Approximately 64 inch of ribbon, lace, or fringe (or 32 inches of 2 different kinds)

Hot glue gun

Pencil

Ruler

Strait/sewing/quilting pins

* Note: Wilton sells a lot of different types of decorative doilies that you can glue onto plain cake boards. You can use scrapbook paper as well. I used Wilton Damask Doilies that were 10 for $3 at Walmart.

Step 1: If you decided to cover plain cake boards with decorative paper or doilies, you’ll need a glue stick and scissors or an X-Acto knife. If using decorative paper, lay the paper print side down on a flat surface. Place the cake board on top of the paper and trace around it. Cut out the circle and glue to the top of the cake board. Repeat with the second cake round. If using doilies, simply glue them to the top of the cake boards.

Step 2: Turn the cake boards upside down. Using a ruler, mark a dot in the center of the cake boards. On one of the cake boards, place a candlestick with the wide base in the middle of the board — use the dot to help you find the center — and trace around the base. On the other board, place the candlestick’s small top in the middle of a board and trace around it.

Step 3: Following the line you drew around the base of the candlestick, apply a generous amount of hot glue. Quickly press the candlestick base into the hot glue and press down for a minute or two. Gently turn the board right side up and set a book on top of it to ensure the hot glue bond is solid. Repeat the with other cake board. Let both boards sit for 5-10 minutes with the books on top.

Step 4: Use a straight pin to pin one end of the ribbon to the edge of the cake board. Continue running the ribbon along the edge of the board, placing a straight pin every few inches to hold the ribbon in place. Once you’re back at the beginning, overlap the ribbon by 1/4 inch and cut off the remainder. Repeat with the second board.

Step 5: Remove the straight pins and begin hot gluing the ribbon to the edge of the board, pressing the ribbon firmly against the edge as you go. Let the hot glue cool before moving on.

Step 6: The candlestick with the wide base on the bottom will be the bottom layer. Lift the second layer on top and center it. Gently trace around the base. Place a generous line of hot glue around the traced circle and firmly press the candlestick into the glue. Hold for a minute. Allow the tiered serving platter to set for 15 to 20 minutes before use.

Because Halloweenis full of candy and sugar, we all could use something healthy yet sweet. Which brings me to Halloween recipe #1: Candy Corn Fruit Parfait. The perfect sweet treat for those like me who don’t like candy, but still want to partake in the Halloween festivities.

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

1 cup pineapple chunks in 100% juice (I used 1 Dole fruit cup)

1 cup Mandarin oranges in 100% juice (I used 1 Dole fruit cup)

1 small container of vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Yoplait)

2 small bowls or cups to assemble parfaits

Step 1: Strain the pineapples and Mandarin oranges. Spoon half of the pineapple chunks into the bottom of the dish, creating a solid layer.

From now until Halloween, I’m going to try to post 1 themed recipe, edible craft, and craft each week. Needless to say, I love Halloween, and I’m getting into the holiday spirit early! I actually started working on my Halloween costume in July.

Ingredients

Craft wire (I used 18 gauge wire from Michaels that I picked up for $2)

Step 1: Place two graham crackers side by side and gently spread a generous amount of chocolate frosting across both crackers.

Step 2: Make a fence around the outer edges of the cracker with the candy corn, pointed side up.

Step 3: Cut 3 Twizzlers in half, forming 6 equal parts*. Measure out the wire approximately the same length of the Twizzler halves. Using wire cutters, cut 6 pieces of wire. If you look at the cut end of the Twizzler, you’ll notice a hole. Gently feed the wire into that hole until the wire has reached the end. If you’re having trouble getting the wire all the way in, gently press the wire down onto a firm surface. If there is excess wire, use the wire cutters to clip off the ends. Repeat with remaining Twizzlers.

* Note: You can cut the Twizzlers to whatever length you want. I wanted a small tree, so I cut them in half. You could also cut them in varying lengths to make the tree look more realistic.

Step 4: Gently bend the tops of the Twizzlers to represent tree branches. Bend the bottom 1/2 inch of each branch to represent the roots. Cut another piece of wire about 5 inches long. Gather the tree branches together, roots facing outwards, and use the wire to secure the branches in place. Place the tree on the cracker — anywhere you want!

Step 5: Place the pumpkins around the cracker, however many where ever you want. I used 3. If you purchased the Harvest mix of candy from the Dollar Tree, you should also have candy corn with a brown tip. I used 2 of those to form a gate.